THE AIR AS SOON AS WE CAN.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I WAS JUST LEARNING ABOUT OUR
NEXT GUEST, VERY INTERESTING.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOUR AND
FIVE-YEAR-OLD, THAT IS THE
TARGET AUDIENCE.
SOME KIDS ARE LEARNING HOW TO
THINK LIKE ENGINEERS AT THAT
EARLY AGE.
RESEARCHERS WITH THE FLORIDA
INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AT UNF
ARE TEACHING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
TO PROGRAM AND PROBLEM SOLVE
USING ROBOTS.
JOINING ME NOW ARE RESEARCHERS
Dr. BRONONE McLIMBNA AND
DEBORAH CARLSON.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
THIS IS SO INTERESTING.
YOU HEAR ROBOT AND YOU THINK IT
IS GOING BE THIS BIG WITH ALL OF
THESE MECHANICAL ARMS, WE HAVE
TO REMEMBER THESE ARE FOUR AND
FIVE-YEAR-OLDS.
SO EXPLAIN TO US IF YOU WILL A
LITTLE BIT HOW THIS IDEA CAME
ABOUT AND WHY TARGET FOUR AND
FIVE-YEAR-OLDS?
WITH THE JOB MARKET NOWADAYS
REQUIRES SO MANY SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING WE NEED TO START THE
CHILDREN VERY YOUNG AND THESE
ARE SKILLS THAT WE KNOW THAT OUR
CHILDREN HAVE SO DEBBIE IS
SHOWING YOU THAT WE HAVE
SELECTED A ROBOT CALLED KEBO.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
IN ORDER FOR KEBO TO WORK WE
HAVE TO PROGRAM.
THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TEACHING KIDS
TO DO.
WE PROGRAM BY DOING A BEGINNING,
A MIDDLE AND AN ENDS.
FOR THE LITTLE KIDS WE USE
THE BLOCKS SO THEY'RE PHYSICALLY
BUILDING WITH BLOCKS, CAN BUILD
A PROGRAM AND BECAUSE THESE ARE
SMALL, WE HAVE THE MATCHING
CARDS THAT MAKES IT EASIER TO
SCAN.
IT IS F IT IS STILL HANDS-ON
PROGRAM.
RIGHT.
.
THE KIDS WILL TURN IT ON
AFTER THEY PROGRAM WHICH MEANS
THEY HAVE TO SCAN IT.
WE DON'T HAVE TO USE A COMPUTER
SCREEN THIS IS A BUILT-IN
SCANNER SO KIDS CAN GET ON THE
FLOOR, IT IS HANDS ON.
THEREFORE IT IS DEVELOPMENTALLY
APPROPRIATE FOR 4 YEARS OLDS.
AND THE IMPORTANCE, OF
COURSE, IS THAT THEY KNOW THE
ORDER FROM LEFT TO RIGHT.
RIGHT.
WE SING SONGS.
♪
TOP TO BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT
LEFT AND RIGHT.
FORWARD, HE'S GOING TO
SHAKE.
HE'S GOING TO DO A RED LIGHT,
YEP, HE'S GOING TO BEEP NOW A
BLUE LIGHT, SCANNING AND THAT'S
IF END OF HIS PROGRAM.
TO KEEP THE KIDS INTEREST HE
HAS ART SO WE CAN DECK RAID KEBO
AND IN HONOR OF GRADUATION,
THAT'S WHAT WE DID.
I CAN SEE WE HAVE VIDEO HERE
THEN OF BOTH OF YOU BRINGING
THIS RESEARCH PROJECT.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO HELP
STUDENTS AND REALLY GIVE THEM
FIRST-HAND, HANDS-ON STEM.
THIS IS A CLASS THAT I'M
TEACHING WITH THEM AND AS YOU
CAN SEE ONE OF THE STUDENTS IS
LEARNING TO PROGRAM AND THEN
THEY WILL SCAN IT AND THEN THEY
WILL CHECK THE PROGRAM AGAINST
WHAT KEBO DOES.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'RE DOING
ESTIMATING.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS RE-ENFORCING
THE CURRICULUM ALREADY BEING
TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOL.
YOU SEE THE REACTION OF THE
CHILDREN, TOO.
EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT.
WHAT IS THE FEEDBACK ARE YOU
GETTING?
THE CHILDREN LOVE IT AND
RIGHT NOW THANKS TO A GENEROUS
DONATION FROM TONY CRAWFORD,
WE'RE IN THREE SCHOOLS, ALL
SAINTS, ALL ABOUT KIDS AND JUST
FOR KIDS WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE
TO PUT KEBOS IN EACH OF THEIR
CLASSROOMS AND WE WORK TWICE A
WEEK WITH THEM SO THE CHILDREN
ARE LEARNING AMAZING THINGS.
ASSUMING THERE ARE PARENTS OR
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS WATCHING
THIS MORNING, HOW DO YOU GET
THIS PROGRAM INTO THE CLASSROOM?
WE'RE DOING RESEARCH ON IT
RIGHT NOW SO WE ARE DEVELOPING
THE CURRICULUM BUT ALSO, IT IS
SPECIALLY AVAILABLE ATKINS DER
LAB AND IT WAS DEVELOPED AT TUTS
UNIVERSITY.
EVERYONE CAN GO ON-LINE TO
AMAZON AND LOOK UP KEBO AND
ORDER IT.
HOW WILL YOU USE THIS
RESEARCH NOW.
WE'LL USE IT AS NOT ONLY AS
A CURRICULUM TO PUT IN SCHOOLS
FOR TEACHING PROGRAM, BUT WE
WORK WITH THE STAYED AND THEY'RE
TRYING TO GET SOME STANDARDS PUT
IN PLACE WHERE 4-YEAR-OLD
CHILDREN LEARN THESE NECESSARY
PROGRAMS.
I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME,
JUST OUR EXPERIENCE IN
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WITH BOTH OF
MY CHILDREN, THERE IS NOT ENOUGH
STEM AND IT IS A IMPORTANT
THING.
WE WANT TO START YOUNG.
YOU HAVE TO OR ELSE THEY
DON'T PICK IT UP.
YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT FLORIDA
INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION BY GOING
TO UNF.EDU/FIE.